From Hell and Back Again
by Eternity Crystal
Summary: The daughter of two powerful shinigami travels through time to prevent her father from disappearing in order to turn the tide in the slaughter of a war that has plagued her life. - Undergoing revisions.
1. Traveling

Again

_Tears rolled down her cheeks as she prepared to say goodbye to all that she knew. Her mother was crying as well, and squeezed her daughter in a tight hug. In between them was the girl's younger brother. His features were so defined and recognizable. It reminded the girl of her mission, of why she was leaving her loved ones. She didn't want to go. She felt a sob crawl up her chest and into her throat._

_"Go, now!" her mother urged, giving her daughter a little shove._

_The daughter began running, but paused for a moment to look back. Her mother hissed at her to keep going, and she obediently turned around and ran. She ran as far as she could, as far away from the hell that was her life, and away from everything she held dear. She took out a small device from inside her shihakusho._

_It was a rectangular prism with a button at the top. What it was supposed to look like was beyond her, but she didn't question its function. She didn't have a choice. Pressing the button at the end, she was enveloped in light, and then she disappeared from the world, and its separate dimensions, altogether._

"Oof!" the girl huffed as she landed on her derriere ungracefully.

The girl rose to her feet, brushing herself off, groaning at the pain her body seemed to have. Did the journey really have to be so painful? She thought to herself. After straightening herself, she decided to find out where she was. There were buildings upon buildings as far as the eye could see all around her. Beneath her feet were large tiles. In the distance, she could see a large white tower with a bridge connecting it to another large building. It took the girl a minute or so to recognize her surroundings.

It was Soul Society! To be more precise, she was in the Seireitei. Clean, white, whole, and pristine. Untouched by flames, debris, and despair. Tears welled in the girl's eyes. She had done it! She made it. Relief exploded into her system, and all she could do for a moment was cry in happiness. Composing herself, the girl began to stride farther into the area, trying to get an exact location of where she was.

Pinpointing her place in the grand scheme of the area, she began to walk. After several long minutes of this, she paused. She had no idea _when_ it was and what she was supposed to do now. The girl never thought that far ahead when she suggested this idea. Holy crap. Well, too late now. She would just have to make it up as she went along. The girl began to walk again, cautiously, looking out for people she might recognize.

According to her line of thought, it would be better to assimilate into the environment, find out the time, and, if need be, wait until the appropriate moment to approach those who could help her with her mission. She needed to first find the Academy, forge some documents, and then make her way to the Gotei Thirteen barracks as a new recruit. It would take a lot of maneuvering, but that was something she was accustomed to. And also, she needed to get out of her ragged clothing and wash up.

Her appearance was more than worse for wear. She'd had little sleep for years, she was always hiding in the dark, barely ate any food (there was little of it left), and was constantly in battle. To say that she looked like hell was an understatement. The girl was so used to being like this, though, that it was hard to imagine being any other way.

Lost in thought, the girl didn't notice when she walked right into someone. The one she ran into grunted a, "Hey, watch where you're going," in a voice so familiar, it made her freeze. Slowly, the girl's eyes traveled up a well muscled body clad in a crisp, clean shihakusho, and they finally landed on a tattooed face and fire engine red hair. Black eyes stared at her intrusively, and with some degree of annoyance.

"Renji-ji —" she stopped short, remembering that she had gone back in time. This Renji probably didn't even know she existed, if she did. This was not the same uncle (though not blood-related) who had been with her since she was born and helped raise her. Although he would be in later years, how many she didn't know, but right now he was just her mother's best friend.

Luckily for the girl, Abarai Renji did not notice her slip up. Instead he stared her down until something akin to recognition lit up in his eyes. Uh oh. The girl's features were prominently her mother's, and that would ultimately lead to suspicion if she didn't speak up soon and distract him.

"I, uh, I beg you pardon, Abarai…fukutaciho," she said as she noticed the arm band he wore. Renji was still a lieutenant? Exactly how far back in time did she go? The ice age? Looked like she would have to wait a while before revealing herself and actually starting her mission.

"It's okay. Just pay attention next time," he replied before walking off.

The girl turned to stare as he went. All of a sudden, he stopped and turned around. "Have we met before?"

The girl smiled a little. Good thing her uncle was dense. "No, we haven't met before now." Which, technically speaking, was actually true.

Once Renji had disappeared, the girl jumped onto a rooftop to remind herself of where she was. She spotted her destination almost instantly, and began to shunpo her way over there. Upon reaching the Shinigami Academy, she snuck in through the front doors and made her way to the records room. Luckily, no one was there and so the girl took her time forging documents. And, of course, she did not use her real name. If she used her real name, there would be mass confusion and heavy interrogations. It was not yet time to reveal her mission.

Once that was done, she stole away to the storage rooms where she picked up a non-tattered shihakusho in her size. Now that she thought about it, she wondered how Renji didn't notice her beat up state. Oh well, she shrugged, her uncle had always been dense and unobservant. Feeling a bit more refreshed, she looked for a schedule for the graduation and when the new recruits would be initiated into their divisions. When she found it, she quickly memorized it, and then left the Academy.

The girl would have to wait a couple of weeks before she could announce her presence to the world under the alias of Itayama Masaki. She wondered if her first name would give too much away, but if the time period gave anything away, it was that they were blissfully unaware. However, she thought, if anything were to give her away, it would probably be her appearance…once she cleaned up a bit. She had her mother's black hair, though hers was significantly longer, down to her mid-back, but it also flipped out at the ends. Her eyes were like her father's, a warm brown, but the shape of them was closer to her mother's. If anyone looked too closely, they would figure out her lineage. And that would be a huge problem for this point in time.

No, she was just being paranoid. If she was paranoid, she might end up revealing herself. Now was the time to be calm. Taking a brief moment to steady her nerves, the girl wove her way expertly through the Seireitei, finding the abandoned areas. Her father had once told her about the abandoned areas when he fought his way through the Seireitei to rescue her mother. He had fought with a captain there, and destroyed a good chunk of buildings. All she had to look for was the destruction. Then again, it could be before her father had ever invaded Soul Society. He could still be learning how to be a shinigami from her mother!

The girl really needed to confirm what time it was. No, wait…she thought about the schedule she saw in the Academy. It was around the time where her father had lost his powers. So he had already rescued his mother and gone through Hueco Mundo to rescue one of his friends, consequently one her of aunt-like figures. She groaned. She would have to wait for about a year before she can even approach someone with her secret. Her father absolutely had to have his powers back before anything could be done.

Upon finding the rubble, the girl visibly relaxed. She had found her hideout, a for sure place that no one would stumble upon. It was too far out from the barracks. All she had left to do was wait a couple weeks until the graduation ceremony at the Academy. Then she would sneak herself in, and wind her way into the Gotei Thirteen. After that, she would just live like a shinigami without having to worry about death, destruction, and basically Hell on Earth. In other words, the time period from which she came from.

In her time, the girl's father had disappeared sometime around when she was seven and her brother two. That's approximately when the Devil known otherwise as Aizen Sosuke invaded the Living World and Soul Society, starting first with Soul Society. She had been studying how to harness her shinigami powers in Soul Society at the time of the attack, and her uncle Renji, who had started to take over her father's role, was quick enough to get the girl and himself out of there. His priority was her, and then her brother once they reached the Living World.

The girl had been learning in the Living World, too. She had a home in both worlds, though she always preferred Soul Society over the Living World. Although, there was also the third niche with the Vizards, but that was another story. As soon as she and her uncle of sorts reached the Living World, they made a direct path to their home where the girl's younger brother and her mother awaited.

Renji threw open the door, shouting that Soul Society was being attacked by Aizen, pushed the girl into the house. Her mother immediately rose from her seat at the kitchen table, where she had been feeding her young son. The girl picked herself up off the floor, and ran towards her family. It was chaotic, her mother and uncle yelling at each other, wondering what they were going to do. They both wanted to go to Soul Society to help, but they just couldn't abandon the children. The girl interjected that she could help to, but that offer was shot down in flames. It would be a few years before her help became necessary.

It took a handful of years for the Soul Society to fall at the hands of the villain. A majority of shinigami died defending it, but it was taken over. The rest of the fighting forces fled to the Living World. A good chunk of those measly numbers stationed themselves at Karakura, the girl's hometown. However, the girl and her brother were smuggled out of the country for safety. The shinigami were afraid of what might happen if Aizen and his forces were to get his hands on the two children of the man whom had had the only chance of ever defeating Aizen.

Soon it became apparent that they needed all the help they could get, so they sent for the girl and her brother to come back to Karakura to help fight. Even though the girl had little more than the most basic of basic training, she would be helpful enough to help keep them alive. It was soon discovered, though, that she could do more than just defend herself and take down an Arrancar or two. Her inherited Hollow powers made her a powerful weapon, not as powerful as her father had once been, but powerful enough to help keep the shinigami afloat in the hellish war.

Aizen, being as smart as he was, had the shinigami cornered. He had cut off all routes and communications with the others that had been stationed throughout the world. He focused on Japan, and prefecture by prefecture, he turned it all into rubble and flames and terror. To the shinigami's credit, they had evacuated a good portion of the human population out of the country and into others that had yet to be struck down by the Devil himself. And from there, almost all of those beloved to the girl had been slaughtered, one by one.

The situation was turning out to be so desperate that the girl knew that they had to try something else, anything else, even if it only changed the situation slightly. Any bit of good progress would help. That's when she came up with the idea of time travel. If she could stop her father from disappearing, if she could have him help fight in the war, then all would not be lost, or at least seem so helpless. She had Urahara make a device, despite him being on the verge of death, that would help her send someone back in time. She volunteered herself, and that's how she ended up there.

The girl sighed as made herself comfortable inside one of the abandoned buildings. Why was she thinking about that? She needed to focus. Focus and determination is what she needed to succeed, not think about what she couldn't change! Though, she supposed, it was natural, since she had just jumped through time not two hours ago. She leaned her head back on the cold concrete wall, and let her mind drift until she dreamt about being in her father's arms once again with his warm smile shining down on her.

"Daddy!" the girl screamed as she sat up, waking up in a sweat.

The girl sat panting heavily and looked around her. Of course, of course it was just a dream. Her dad really wasn't there. It was all just a nightmare that had morphed from a good dream. It took a minute for her to calm down. As the trauma of the nightmare passed, a low rumbling sound occurred. She looked down to realize she was starving. It had been a week at least since she had last eaten. Great, looks like she would have to sneak into society to grab something to eat. She groaned, she didn't want to risk it, but she had no other choice if she was not going to starve to death.

The girl laughed at the twisted idea; she had been running around fighting tough, vicious, sadistic opponents and lived to tell the tale, and then she dies of hunger. Yeah, that would be funny, if she wasn't dead. Sighing and resigning herself to what she needed to do, the girl rose to her feet and stretched. She looked out a window and saw that it was yet another bright, sunny day. For the last several years, all the girl had ever seen was blackened skies from the smoke and debris that the destruction and fire had caused. It was a dark and endless world of nothing but Hell. It was nice to see some sun after years of blackness, but she also knew that there was a rare change in weather in Soul Society.

Striding quickly through the door, leaping swiftly and quietly from rooftops, the girl made her way over to the recreational part of the Soul Society. She quickly found her favorite food place and entered as stealthily as she could. Luckily, the workers there didn't bother to question new faces, seeing as there were tons of new people everyday, and she ordered some food. Once full, she snuck out of the restaurant without anybody important noticing her. After that, she quickly fled back to her abandoned and temporary home.

As the hours passed in the girl's makeshift home, she found herself growing bored. She noted vaguely that the sun was lowering in the sky. Just this one time, the girl would allow herself to address her zanpakuto, seeing as the growing loneliness was nearly overwhelming. For a long time she had been denied talking to her sword due to the fear some had that her zanpakuto's spirit was merged with the Hollow from which her powers derived from. When Soul Society needed use of her Hollow powers, she was no longer banned from it, but she restrained herself anyway, partially because terror had been instilled in her, but it was mostly from habit.

_Hello?_ She called out tentatively.

_Speaking to me again? Or having a lapse in the oh, so perfect self-control?_

…_Sorry, guess I'll leave you alone._

_Wait! I'm sorry. I'm just upset that you never talk to me._

_You know perfectly well why that is._

_Yeah, everyone around you is a bunch of paranoid chickens._

_Hey!_

_It's the truth. Just so you know all you have are your father's powers, not anything else. You are perfectly safe from hostile takeover._

…_You mean it?_

_Would I lie to you?_

_I guess not._

A laugh rang through the girl's mind. _You guess?_

_Well, I wouldn't really know from experience._

_True._

_I…I just need someone to talk to. It's so hard being somewhere familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time, being around people I know but who have no clue about who I am.  
><em>

_Yeah, and it's only going to get worse._

The girl groaned. _I know, you don't have to remind me. Trust me, I know that this is going to be utterly difficult._

_Good, just don't take it lightly and let your guard down. These people may look and act like your family, but they're _not_. They're you're family from _before_ they knew you. Heck, you technically don't even _exist_ right now. Just…be careful._

_I will. Or, at least, I'll try, _she replied grinning.

A sigh came from someone else in her mind. _I suppose that's the best we'll get out of you for now. You are very much like your father in that regard,_ the newcomer said.

_Really?_

_Yes, but that wasn't exactly a compliment._

_Anything about my father is wonderful to hear, and having that I'm remotely like him in anyway is a compliment._

The girl could almost envision her zanpakuto spirit smiling. _Of course, that's because you have a huge father complex._

_Sh-sh-shut up!_ The girl blushed. _It's just that I look so much like my mother, that I never get any comparison to my father. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother very much, it's just that I…_

_Loved your father more?_

No!_ I just have very little left of my father other than my fuzzy memories._

_Understandable, but you still have a father complex._

As her zanpakuto sniggered, the girl let out a mental scream. _Aaaaugh! Whatever, I'm done talking to you._

_Wha —_

She viciously severed the mental connection before her sword could finish. The girl may now have been deafened by silence, but at least she knew that she wasn't completely alone. Out of a window, Kurosaki Masaki saw the blurred colors of a sunset and determined to get herself comfortable before falling asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have finally come out from underneath my rock and decided to write another Bleach story. I don't know how long it'll last, but I hope you all enjoy it.**


	2. Crashing and Crushing

From Hell and Back

Days passed in cold loneliness, but Masaki kept herself warm with talking to her zanpakuto spirit and the other being occupying her soul. She would sneak in periodically to buy some food, but she otherwise kept herself hidden. Finally, it came time for the Academy graduation ceremony. In her escapade to the Academy, she also stole an Academy uniform.

There Masaki sat in her seat as the speakers droned on and on. She nearly fell asleep. She'd nearly forgotten how boring some shinigami could be, but not quite soon enough it was time to hand out the diplomas and division assignments. When her alias was called, she rose to her feet and walked across the stage to grab it. She noticed the slight confusion on some of the staff's faces as they called her name. Masaki noted with relief that they disregarded it.

After she was handed her diploma, Masaki waited another hour for the ceremony to end. How long was the stupid thing anyway? She thought impatiently to herself. Once they were set free, Masaki rushed away from the Academy, desperate to be free. She counted herself lucky that she got her training from ranking officers that she knew, and not stuffy classrooms. She probably would've gone mad if she had to face a set of two schools.

Masaki was tempted to use shunpo to get to her abandoned home, but she thought better of it. She was taught by the best in shunpo, and if she used it, she'd be tempted to go all out. That would be problematic if anyone with good eyes caught sight of her. Academy students were not nearly that good. Instead, Masaki ran. Lost in thought about how new recruits showed up to their divisions the next day, she didn't see anyone in front of her until she almost crashed into them.

Masaki caught herself at the last minute and managed to rock back onto her heels. Then she looked up and saw who she almost toppled. Her mouth hung open in shock as she drank in the sight of the Ninth Division lieutenant. Slowly, her eyes started from the top and traversed to his feet, and then darted back to his face. Masaki gulped a tiny bit.

Hisagi Shuhei, the shinigami Masaki had been dating for the last couple of years in her time. She had fallen in love with him during one of their long, disastrous missions. He had saved her, and she him, several times over the course of it. And, eventually, she learned to appreciate him for who he was and wanted to be with him. Of course, now, though, he had no idea who she was or what they had gone through. A nervous sweat broke out across Masaki's skin.

Then, to Masaki's embarrassment, she began to stutter. "Uh, um, s-sorry, sir. I was just…um…on my way to, er, somewhere. I didn't mean to…I mean, I wasn't expecting, er…Sorry. I have to go now."

Masaki didn't think about the consequences this time and used shunpo to get out of the incredibly awkward situation she found herself in. She tried hard, as her feet flew over ground, not to think about what he and his companion, the Third Division lieutenant, Kira Izuru, thought about that encounter. She must've left them dazed and confused. She shook her head, she mustn't think of that. If she thought about Shuhei at all, she would lose it. She missed him so much already, and seeing him didn't really help with that.

When Masaki finally arrived home, she leaned against the wall, feeling her heart beat frantically, mostly from the pace she set, but also from having the image of her boyfriend in her mind. Well, future boyfriend. She felt her body slide to the ground as her chest heaved and heaved until she found herself sobbing.

What on earth was she doing here? Without the comfort of those who raised her and loved her, how on earth was she going to accomplish something so huge? She was sixteen for crying out loud! She may tall and sometimes be intimidating, but that didn't instill emotional stability. How was she going to be around these people and not think of them being _hers_? See people who've died and seeing them breathing and walking and without a care in the world?

Images of all her loved ones mangled and cold surfaced, and Masaki sobbed harder. All the ones she loved all died eventually. Her father's human friends, her uncle Renji, a few of the other lieutenants who helped train her, along with a couple of captains, some of the Vizard and, heck, maybe even her father could be dead! And yet, she, the sixteen year old daughter of a MIA shinigami/Vizard, was still alive. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair!

As Masaki's sobs slowed down and eventually disappeared, her sense of reason seemed to come back to her. Of course it was unfair, but she had a chance at making it fair. She shouldn't waste this given opportunity. A renewed sense of determination burned through her; she volunteered for this mission and she would commit to it! Masaki sensed the approval of her two residents of her soul. Drying her face, Masaki decided it was time to step out and get something to eat.

* * *

><p>It was easily to slip into the crowd of new recruits heading towards the Gotei Thirteen barracks. They were fairly easy to spot: the nervous looks, the hyped up chatter, and the frantic stragglers trying to catch up to other people in the group. Masaki masterfully squeezed her way in, but was a total misfit: she was utterly calm. After her little episode the day before, Masaki had gained somewhat a sense of equilibrium.<p>

Eventually, the mass reached a point where it was time to split up and head off to the separate divisions. Masaki headed off with the wave headed towards the Thirteenth Division. It was the furthest from where they were, so there was a long trek ahead. She heard moans from within the throng about the distance, and Masaki couldn't help but roll her eyes. That's when her eyes wandered and spotted a certain someone walking in another direction.

It was Shuhei. She felt the world stop for an instant and her breathing freeze. She let out a small gasp as, for one wild second, she saw that he glanced in her direction. His eyes caught something and he stared as he walked. Masaki tore her gaze away, refusing to believe that he was looking at her. Masaki was a bit tall, able to be noticed due to that and being far in the front of this crowd, but her hair was such a mundane color that she wouldn't stick out terribly. It didn't make sense that he would pinpoint her. Heck, he could be looking at something past her for all she knew.

Masaki kept her eyes forward from that point on.

The group was met, once they reached the barracks, by the two third seats, Kotetsu Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentaro. Masaki pressed her lips together to keep from laughing as she over heard the two arguing. It seemed like Captain Ukitake Jushiro was unwell again, and would be leaving the new recruits to the care of the third seats. It was amazing to Masaki how the two ever got anything done. They had stayed the same through the years.

While standing there in the group of new recruits, Masaki observed how nervous the group was getting from the third seats' bickering. To newcomers, who had no idea how Kiyone and Sentaro worked, it would appear scary. For all they knew, it could be run like the Eleventh Division. However, they should have a bit of knowledge on the Thirteenth Division, seeing as they just exited school and every division has a different function. She could hear their frightened mutterings as they continued to stand there. She was tempted to roll her eyes at them again.

All of a sudden, a hush descended upon the throng as a figure stepped out, clear as day. Masaki was mildly surprised to see the tall, white haired man come around a corner and stand in front of them. She had assumed that the captain of the Thirteenth Division was ill. Apparently, she had been mistaken. Ukitake stepped in front of the crowd and smiled at the newest members of the division, which put most at ease within seconds.

"Welcome," he began, coughed a little, and then continued. He announced the basic things about the division such as what it was like to be there and what you could expect to get out of being in the division, and he described some of the duties and responsibilities of being a division member. He also said things about the individual and such. Masaki had heard this speech from him before, only in more casual terms, but she struggled to pay attention anyway.

Soon they were all dismissed, and Masaki began making her way towards the living quarters of the barracks. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. So much for her being able to sense everyone around her. She turned her head back and up to see Ukitake looking down at her with a curious face. Uh oh. She could sense what was coming.

"Excuse me, but I was just thinking you look familiar. You look remarkably close to another division member, Kuchiki Rukia. Do you know her by chance?" he asked.

Masaki's throat closed, and she had to open her mouth to inhale. Of course she knew her! But she couldn't say that. How would she explain that? She couldn't say that she was her sister. As far as anyone knew, her aunt Hisana had been the only sister to Rukia. Saying she was the long lost sister would be out of the question. Saying she was a cousin would be impractical, seeing as her looks were so close. The only solution would be to deny knowing her and say that her looks were coincidental.

Nervously, Masaki lowered her eyes, turned around and bowed in respect. "I have only heard of her, Ukitake-taicho, but I do not know her personally."

Sensing her tension, Ukitake smiled at Masaki. "Ah, okay. I was just wondering. You should meet her, though, she's a wonderful shinigami. I have a feeling you two would get along."

Masaki couldn't help it as a little smile snaked its way onto her face. "Well, I shall seek her out, then, when I get the chance. It was an honor to meet you, Ukitake-taicho."

With that, Masaki bowed again, and quickly made her way towards her new living arrangements. She wanted to get as far away from that situation as possible, the fear still lingering in her veins. Taking in deep breaths, Masaki finally found her room, and discovered that it was the same room she used whenever she came to Soul Society to train, back in her time. She blinked once, twice, and then laughed. She stifled it when she got weird looks from her fellow shinigami. Masaki apologized quickly, and then disappeared into the recesses of her room.

* * *

><p>Masaki walked away from the exam feeling a little wary. She had just applied for a seated position, and was confident that she would land a position. However, she wondered if she showed off a little much. She saw shocked expressions from the examiners' faces. Maybe it was because she was supposed to be fresh from the Academy and Academy graduates weren't supposed to be that skilled. She bit her lip as she walked back towards the Thirteenth Division barracks.<p>

Night had settled over the Seireitei and cool breeze whipped around the maze like city. Masaki reveled in the coolness and the sense of relief it brought. It calmed her mind as she walked on autopilot towards her room. She closed her eyes and paused for a minute just to relish the sensations it brought. Her reveling was brought up short as a raucous noise came from somewhere to her left.

It sounded like a bunch of voices, indistinguishable from the sheer number of them. And then, abruptly, they disappeared. Masaki figured that a door to a bar of some kind had been opened and then closed, and the footsteps softly coming her way suggested that someone had left. Her eyes snapped open as she felt the familiar reiatsu wrap around her like a blanket of safety and comfort, though a little rough around the edges. Quickly, Masaki began walking.

"Hey, you!" an all too familiar voice called out. Masaki froze in place, knowing she was the only one about and that his voice was so loud only someone deaf wouldn't be able to hear it. However, she may have been frozen, but she did not turn around.

"Hey, can you give me a hand here?" Hisgai Shuhei's voice carried over to where Masaki was, and Masaki couldn't help but turn around to look.

Shuhei was shouldering two drunken fools, and the weight looked to be a bit much for him. The said fools were Kira Izuru and Abarai Renji. Of course, at this point in time, Masaki knew that Shuhei had a crush on Matsumoto Rangiku, and that he would carry her any day of the week. So it only made sense that carrying two heavy guys would make him ask for help. Masaki sighed. As much as she wished she could make herself decline, she felt herself accepting his favor.

Masaki walked over, and sensing that Renji was heavier than Kira, offered to take the red haired man. Shuhei's face looked infinitely gratefully and very much relieved. However, as soon as she took Renji onto her back, she felt him snuggle his face in her hair and sniff. She stiffened, and she almost went rigid when she heard the next words out of Renji's drunken mouth.

"Mmm. Rukia, you smell nice."

Masaki walked forward woodenly, feeling akin to a toy soldier marching forward, completely silent. In her mind, however, she was screaming.

_Ew! That is _so_ wrong! This is my uncle! I mean, I knew he always loved mother, but really, that is just disgusting. I'm Rukia's _daughter_ and he's doing…this. Gross, just gross. I mean, I know he's drunk and everything, but seriously…ew._

All the while, her zanpakuto, Akumuryu, was laughing hysterically at Masaki's predicament. With a loud "Shut up!" from Masaki, Akumuryu tried to turn his laughter into a mere chortle. No such luck, he just guffawed until he could guffaw no more. Masaki groaned. Out loud.

"Are you okay?" Shuhei asked. "Is he too heavy for you?"

Masaki shook her head, and then answered, "No, he's not. I was just thinking about…unnecessary things."

"I see. Wait, you're the girl who I ran into the other day, aren't you?" Shuhei replied unexpectedly.

Masaki nearly tripped over her own feet in surprise. Hesitantly, she answered, "Um, yeah. Sorry about that. But you must have a good memory, though, sir." Masaki added the sir as an afterthought, realizing she was being a bit too familiar with a superior officer.

Out of the corner of her eye, Masaki saw Shuhei smile a bit. "I do, but then again it's hard to forget someone who almost rams into you."

Masaki blushed in embarrassment, but said nothing.

"So you just graduated from the Academy, I take it," Shuhei said conversationally. Usually, he was not one for talking to strangers, but in this case, he seemed to want to talk to Masaki.

"I did, indeed, sir. I just came back from the exam for a seated position."

"Already?"

_Crap_, Masaki thought. _Most people wouldn't take that test that soon. Most would be getting used to being in the Gotei Thirteen and their abilities before taking that. Dang it, I should've been more careful._

"Uh, yes. I just thought that…well, I could test my limits. I know, it's a bad way to do it, but I always did better with practical tests back in the Academy. I need something to push me in order to find things out, you know?"

It was partially a lie, but it was mostly the truth. It was another way in which Masaki was like her father: she performed better under pressure.

"I understand that," Shuhei replied simply. "Well, I hope you get the position you're hoping for." He turned to look at her with a small smile.

Masaki grinned back at him. "That means a lot, sir, thank you."

The rest of the walk was in silence. Shuhei dumped Kira off at the Third Division barracks. Masaki waited, knowing that Shuhei didn't expect her to know where the Sixth Division was at, and she needed to play her role correctly. Once Shuhei removed himself from the Third Division, the two set off towards the Sixth Division with Shuhei leading.

"What division did you place in?" he asked conversationally.

"Thirteenth," Masaki replied casually.

Shuhei nodded. "That's a good division to be in, or so I hear. Ukitake-taicho is a good man."

Masaki couldn't help but smile hugely at that. "I know." She noticed what that implied, and then backpedaled. "I mean, I talked with him a little bit today, and I've heard a lot about him. I can tell that he's a great man."

Shuhei glanced over at her and then nodded. Again, the two fell back into a companionable quietness. Eventually, they reached the Sixth Division, and then searched the place for Renji's room. Once they got there, Masaki let him slide off her back and onto his futon expertly without disturbing him in the slightest. After Renji was safely tucked away, still in his clothes, though, the two exited the Sixth Division area, and said their goodbyes.

Masaki was the first to start walking away, and as she did, Akumuryu remarked, _I think the boy likes you already._

_Impossible_, Masaki replied,_ we've just met. There's no way he could have a crush on me that soon._

_Crush at first sight?_

_In my dreams. Anyway, I think you need to learn to keep some opinions to yourself. Otherwise, you might be getting a beating._

Akumuryu just laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I would like to thank all those who favorited/alerted this story, and to my first reviewer, Thunder Claw03. This came out a lot faster than I thought I would, but the story just kept flowing and flowing. Most of this was actually written today. Well, I hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Reunions

From Hell and Back Again

It would be a couple of days before Masaki got her results back from the exam, so she just went about her day doing whatever she was asked to do. It was mostly menial chores and such. _Man, was shinigami life really this boring before the war?_ Masaki felt that there was an overpopulation of shinigami, and not enough things for them to do. She sighed heavily. At least things were peaceful, she thought. Masaki had to keep telling herself that over and over as the tedious things got to her.

Masaki, completely and utterly bored, began walking around the Thirteenth Division grounds. Aimlessly, Masaki went from place to place until she found the training grounds. That sparked her interest. Maybe she would take this opportunity to spar. With who, Masaki didn't know. Perhaps Akumuryu, but she would need to grab him from her room. Deciding that that would be the thing to distract her, Masaki used shunpo to travel to her room. Grabbing her zanpakuto, Masaki flash stepped back to the training field.

Confidently, Masaki strode across the grass until she found a nice and secluded spot. Getting into a comfortable stance, Masaki released Akumuryu. The katana morphed, but only slightly. Silver metal turned black and the blade straightened so the shape resembled more of a broadsword, only thinner. Masaki felt her power hum through the weapon. Rotating her sword a few times first, Ma

saki then swung her sword at a tree. Black with a tinge of dark purple ice crystals embedded themselves into the trunk. A second later, they exploded, taking out a whole section of the tree, causing the top half to topple.

"An interesting zanpakuto you have there," a voice remarked from behind Masaki.

Masaki whirled and felt her heart give a heavy thud in her chest. It was a petite shinigami with hair as black as Masaki's, but ended at her shoulders, flipping out at the ends. Her eyes were large and a beautiful indigo color. She was almost a mirror image of Masaki, except for the eye color and that Masaki was considerably taller. It was her mother, (at this point) Kuchiki Rukia.

"Ah, thank you. Oh, I'm sorry, have I taken your area?" Masaki replied, purposefully not addressing her by name.

"No, no. I was just curious as to who was out here. Most people would be eating lunch by now."

As if on cue, Masaki's stomach grumbled, and she flushed with embarrassment. Rukia pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Rukia removed her hand casually sitting on her zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki. Then Rukia kindly offered to eat lunch with her. Masaki was surprised and delighted, but quickly hid the surprise. She wondered why Rukia would offer to go together. After all, they had just met.

"Um, by the way," Masaki said as the two made their way across the field, "my name is Itayama Masaki."

"Kuchiki Rukia," her mother replied, glancing up at Masaki. Masaki knew Rukia was gauging her reaction to her name. Masaki smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Rukia-san," Masaki said. She almost burst into giggles when she saw the pleasantly surprised look on Rukia's face.

"Pleasure to meet you, too, Masaki-san."

The two continued to chatter as they made their way to the nearest restaurant. Lost in food and conversation, the two girls didn't notice a couple of shadows looming over them. By chance, mid-conversation Masaki glanced up and saw two lieutenants hovering over the table. She swallowed thickly. Renji wouldn't be hard to deal with, but Matsumoto Rangiku, the infamous gossip and drunk, would be. Rukia noticed Masaki's face, stopped midsentence, and followed Masaki's gaze. Surprise flitted across her face.

"Renji! Matsumoto-fukutaicho! What are you two doing here?" Rukia asked with slightly more casually than what was normally allowed, and that was due to her surprise. It was an interesting combination, Masaki had to admit. It was almost as interesting as the two sitting down. Almost.

For half a minute neither newcomer answered, but stared intensely at Masaki. Said girl squirmed under their inquisitive and judging eyes. Then Matsumoto's eyes lit up, and she sat down to Masaki's right and angled the chair towards Masaki. Masaki gulped imperceptibly at the excited look on the Tenth Division lieutenant's face.

"So you're the mystery Academy graduate," Matsumoto said, her words full of meaning. Meaning that, for once, Masaki couldn't interpret.

Back in Masaki's time, whenever Masaki ran into Matsumoto during her sessions in Soul Society, Masaki could always figure out what Matsumoto was about to say. Her words and expressions always gave her away. Her tone helped, too. Plus, Masaki knew pretty much everyone of importance that Matsumoto would want to gossip about. Masaki knew most of the captains pretty well, both on a professional and personal basis. The two often mixed in her training sessions with them. The lieutenants she was also pretty friendly with, and then a handful of other seated officers.

However now she knew nothing of what people were saying and very little of what they were like. Sure, the essentials hadn't changed, but the little things had, and those she had yet to know. Masaki fidgeted again as she wondered what people were saying about her and if she made a mistake somewhere. She was fairly sure that she made one as she had told herself to _lay low_.

"Mystery?" Masaki asked as soon as she regained her voice.

Renji took the seat to Rukia's right as he said, "You don't know? Everyone's talking about it."

Masaki gave him a look. She replied with, "I've only been in my division for a day. How would I know what the other divisions _and _higher ranking officers are talking about?"

Renji opened his mouth, but closed it when he realized that her obvious point was valid. Rukia couldn't help but snigger. Renji glared at her.

"Well," Matsumoto said, and Masaki knew she was about to spill the beans. "Apparently, the staff members at the Academy don't remember you, and when your name appeared on the list for graduates, they got confused. They just assumed your records got lost somewhere. I've also heard that you went to take the test for a seated position, and that you blew the examiners' minds away. After all, you supposedly just graduated."

_Uh oh_, Masaki thought. How was she supposed to respond to that? Sweat began tot trickle down the back of Masaki's neck. She stuck out too much, that was obvious by now. She should've waited before taking that test! Next time, she'd listen to Akumuryu and the other resident in her soul.

Renji and Matsumoto stared at her with expectant eyes, but Rukia, on the other hand, rolled hers.

"Stop it, you guys, you're freaking her out," Rukia said, coming to Masaki's rescue. That didn't mean that Masaki didn't need to say anything, though.

Masaki took in a deep breath as Renji looked away and apologized, and Matsumoto pouted at Rukia. Masaki racked her brain for something to address both issues. Finally, she let out her breath, and spoke.

"Well, I tend to slip under the radar sometimes, especially in school. I kind of have an ability to hide, sort of a specialty. Until now, that is. And then I took the exam to really test my limits, because I don't think the Academy really did that for me. I thought, 'What the heck, I'll try it'."

They all seemed to buy it, much to Matsumoto's disappointment and Masaki's relief. However, Masaki saw the wheels turning gin Matsumoto's head, trying to find a way to make Masaki's explanation a juicier story, no doubt. Masaki wanted to groan. She should've known Matsumoto wouldn't give up easily. Masaki prepared herself as Matsumoto thought.

"Well, if you've escaped notice for so long, you must be from Rukongai, right? What district are you from?"

Phew. It could've been _much_ worse. Masaki smiled serenely. "I actually did not come from Rukongai. Both my parents were shinigami."

"What?" all three shouted.

Masaki gave them all a look. "Oh, come on, it's not like it's unusual. If anything, it's beyond common."

They settled down when they realized she was right.

"You just don't seem like someone of shinigami lineage," Renji pointed out in his defense.

Masaki smiled knowingly. "Why? Because I'm not a stuck-up prat who thinks I'm better than everyone just because of my family tree?"

Renji nodded.

"Well, my parents were good people. They raised me well. My mother was from Rukongai and my father…Well, let's just say he had a special upbringing."

That caught the three's interest. "What kind of 'special upbringing'?" Rukia asked.

Masaki opened her mouth to answer, but she had no idea what to say without giving herself away. She thought for a minute.

Finally, "His unique circumstances and talents shaped him into the wonderful man he was. It gave him a different perspective on things, and it changed the way a lot of other people saw things."

As the information sunk in, Matsumoto caught onto some wording.

"Was? What happened to him?"

_Crap. Got carried away again._ Masaki cast her gaze downwards, all the lonely emotions Masaki had had since her father's disappearance surfaced again.

"I'd…rather not talk about it."

Masaki knew that they would assume he was dead instead of missing. Though, for now, it might have been for the best. Now, even Matsumoto wouldn't push for details. Thank goodness for that! Masaki inhaled deeply, and then pushed aside all her chaotic feelings and pasted a smile on her face.

"Well, it's all in the past." _Future_, she corrected mentally.

Several minutes later and lunch was decidedly over. All four slit ways, and Masaki was back to wandering about the Seireitei. Well, it's not like she had anything better to do. Her job was taken care of, her results were yet to be given, so what else was a shinigami girl to do? Eventually, she found herself in the Sixth Division area.

Masaki considered if she could find anything to do here. She just parted ways with Renji, so seeking him out would be pointless, and an obvious show of boredom on her part. She then thought about those she knew in the Sixth Division and came up with a list of three people: Renji, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya (her legitimate uncle by name), and Rikichi, Renji's number one fan in a non-creepy way. She supposed she could strike up a friendship with Rikichi, but while she was contemplating the pros and cons, she felt an ominous reiatsu approach her from behind.

Masaki spun, paused, and bowed. Kuchiki Byakuya stood proud and tall, staring down at her with little emotion. It hurt Masaki quite a lot to have her uncle regard her as if she were a stranger – admittedly, she was at this point. Even in her time, Byakuya wasn't the warmest companion, but he let _her _see some of his true self despite her parentage (and because of it) – she knew full well of his distaste for her father. He rarely voiced his complaints in front of her, knowing how much she loved him, but he did voice his concerns about him doing his job properly. She actually quite enjoyed Byakuya's company, to be honest.

All of a sudden, something in the atmosphere shifted, and Masaki couldn't quite pinpoint what that change was. Masaki straightened and saw that familiar contemplative look in his neutral colored eyes. Ah, he was most likely trying to place where he'd seen her before. Only he hadn't and was only recognizing her mother's (and subsequently her aunt's) features in her. The two stared at each other, and that's when Masaki noticed that she was the same height as him! Had she grown again? It seemed impossible considering her lifestyle, excluding the past two weeks.

Realizing she was staring, Masaki dropped her eyes and stepped to the side so her uncle could pass her. To Masaki's surprise, Byakuya did not move right away. He merely continued to stare as if she were the most baffling puzzle he'd ever come across. And, though Masaki knew Byakuya would never admit it, he quite enjoyed puzzles. Certain kinds, anyway.

Byakuya took a step forward past Masaki and paused. He snuck another glance at Masaki and then turned to face her. Masaki barely dared to look up and tried to reign in her reaction when she saw the deep concentrated gaze focused on her. That familiar sensation of fear began to manifest itself in Masaki, and she desperately tried not to let it show. Finally, Byakuya broke the massive, tense silence.

"Who are you?"

Okay, so the tension was still there.

For a moment, Masaki totally forgot her response. At least her mouth didn't open and close like a fish's; progress. As she floundered, Masaki saw Byakuya's patience wear thin. Then, she blurted out her answer.

"Ma-Masaki, sir, Kuro – Itayama Masaki. Itayama Masaki."

Oh no. Why did she have to sound like an idiot? Or a broken record player, to be more accurate. At any rate, Byakuya then seemed to lose interest or his patience – or both – and walked off. Masaki relaxed and sighed in relief.

_Man, _she thought, _that was an awkward reunion._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just so you know, it's two in the morning, so I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. Sorry if the chapter seems a bit short. It does to me...Oh well. By the way, I forgot to mention this earlier, but Akumuryu means 'Nightmare Dragon'. In case you were wondering and were too lazy to look it up. I also forgot this in the last two chapters:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, if I did, it would not be as awesome and there would be no fanfiction for it.**

**Feel free to send me any ideas. I could use some. And thanks to Thunder Claw03 again for reviewing, I really appreciate it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**


	4. Daily Life

From Hell and Back Again

Two days passed before Masaki was called in by Ukitake. She already knew what it was about: her results were in. To be expected, Masaki was nervous. She wasn't nervous about what position she got, oh no. Masaki was worried about whether she overdid it, and what Ukitake thought. Would he be suspicious? Accepting? The possibilities were endless. Hastily, Masaki made her way to her captain's office, hoping to get this done with as soon as possible.

Masaki knocked politely upon arrived and waited until she heard a clam, "Enter." Cautiously, Masaki slid open the door to the office and stepped inside. Closing the door behind her, Masaki then walked over to stand in front of Ukitake's desk, where said man was bent over some papers. A minute passed before Masaki cleared her throat as politely as one could.

"Ah, Masaki-san! I was expecting you some time later," he remarked with delighted surprise.

Masaki smiled. "I always try to be prompt, but if you're busy, I can always come back later."

"No, now is just fine. I wasn't doing anything too important." He coughed once.

Masaki knew one cough wasn't a big deal, even for the sickly Ukitake. Therefore, she disregarded it. She kept her smile in place and waited patiently for Ukitake to start.

"I have some good news, Masaki-san. I have your results from the placement test, and you are now officially the seventh seat of the Thirteenth Division! Congratulations," Ukitake said excitedly and with warmth.

Masaki beamed. Except for the fact that she was supposed to be fresh out of the Academy, she managed to get a position that wouldn't stand out too much. It was high enough that she occasionally got to do important work, but low enough that she could do other things as well. Things that involved trips to the Living World.

"I am honored, Ukitake —"

Cutting Masaki off was the sound of the door slamming open. Both occupants turned to find an out of breath Rukia standing in the doorway, hunched over and panting heavily. Rukia, once she looked up, glanced from Ukitake to Masaki. She addressed the white haired captain.

"Sorry to interrupt, Taicho, but the other captains are requesting our presence at an impromptu captains' meeting."

Ukitake looked taken aback, but prepared to go to the meeting. "Sorry to leave so abruptly, Masaki-san. I'll be back shortly and help fill you in on your new duties."

Seconds later, the Thirteenth Division captain was gone, leaving Rukia and Masaki alone in the office. Awkward silence passed between the two for a moment.

"New duties? So I take it you got a seat?" Rukia asked conversationally.

Masaki's smile was euphoric. "Yes. I'm now the seventh seat of this division."

Rukia's expression was just as pleased as Masaki's. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Rukia-san." It still felt odd to call her mother by her given name.

Looking for something to say, Masaki said the first thing that came to mine, "What were you doing before they sent you to fetch Ukitake-taicho?"

"I was on my way to train."

Masaki was surprised for a fraction of a second, and then she remembered her mother saying that she trained in all her spare time until she met her father again. Masaki smiled at Rukia, an idea coming to her.

"I see. Well, if you're still free later, would you mind sparring with me? I would love to have a fighting buddy; keeps me from getting rusty. Though I doubt I'll be getting rusty anytime soon."

The two laughed.

A few more words were exchanged, and Rukia made her exit. Once she was long gone, Masaki heaved a sigh and fell into a chair, slumping a considerate amount. She still didn't quite know how she was going to survive a year of this. Masaki supposed, though, that she would grow accustomed to it, and that it would just become a part of daily life. Masaki just hoped that she won't forget her objective here as she integrated herself into this time period.

Masaki let her thoughts stray for a while as she waited for Ukitake to return. She never noticed she fell asleep until the sliding door rattled open. Masaki started, her body thrusting forward into a straighter sitting position. She looked around, eyes wide and taking in every detail before they landed on her sheepish looking captain.

"I apologize for taking so long. There were some unexpected topics that came up. Did I wake you?"

"It's all right, Taicho. Not a big deal."

Ukitake took the reassurance and smiled in relief. "Well, I suppose I should fill you in on what your post entails."

It took about an hour for Ukitake to explain everything in full, but once every detail was covered, Masaki was free to go. Masaki bowed and thanked him, and Ukitake laughed merrily, saying that there was no need to thank him. Masaki whistled as she practically skipped down the corridor. As much as she was reluctant to admit it to herself, she was pretty psyched about being an actual shinigami doing actual shinigami things.

Through the first approximate eight years of Masaki's life, Masaki had alternated between learning human things in the Living World and in Soul Society. She got personally trained by the captains, lieutenants, and her parents and not at the Academy. They were training her mostly, but on occasion they would teach her things _about_ Soul Society, the Seireitei, the Gotei Thirteen, etc. She didn't know if they intended for her to be a real shinigami one day or if they just wanted her to learn how to harness her powers in case of emergency. Whatever it was, she never did get the chance to actually become one because Aizen turned the universe upside down.

_Drat_. Thinking about the coming future always brought her mood down. Determined to not let it affect her (on the outside, anyway), Masaki made her way to her new found office. Of course, being only a seventh seat, her office was communal. Introducing herself to the others, she then walked over to her desk to check it. Just a standard wood desk with ink bottles and brushes, and even a few papers were there. Then Masaki glanced at the clock.

Oh no. She was going to be late for her sparring/training session with Rukia! Using shunpo to reach her quarters, she snatched Akumuryu, and made a mad dash for the open fields used for training. Masaki was panting by the time she reached Rukia.

"Sorry…I'm…late," she apologized between gasps.

"Actually, you're right on time," Rukia said with a smile that held a hint of amusement.

"Well, that's…something," Masaki replied, not knowing whether to be glad she made it or groan because she rushed a bit too much.

"Are you ready or would you like a minute?" Rukia asked as she watched Masaki try and regain her breath.

"I'm okay now," Masaki said after approximately half a minute.

"Do you want to use shikai? Or start with regular swordsmanship? I'm pretty interesting in what your shikai can do."

This answer was ingrained in Masaki's brain. She had been asked this question many times during her training sessions.

"Swordsmanship first, then shikai. It seems like the natural order of things to do it that way."

Rukia nodded, and then unsheathed her zanpakuto. Masaki reacted before Rukia had finished unsheathing her sword. In nearly an instant, Masaki had drawn Akumuryu, and then was clashing against Sode no Shirayuki.

Footwork and hand-eye coordination came naturally to Masaki, though she lacked brutal strength. The art of swordsmanship Masaki got hands down, but her somewhat poor muscle strength meant she had to rely on other methods, like kido. Though kido didn't come as naturally as swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat (almost all of that learned from her father as most shinigami relied heavily on swords), she excelled in it. What she lacked in physical strength, Masaki made up for in spiritual strength. Her weirdly elemental based zanpakuto also reflected that.

Some sweaty hours later, Rukia and Masaki decided to call it quits. Both were breathing hard, and they hadn't even released their zanpakuto. But they both decided they were too tired for that. Besides, they could always do it another day. As they relaxed against trees, the two conversed.

"You're really good, Masaki-san. I can see why you got the seventh seat position," Rukia complimented.

"You're quite good yourself, Rukia-san. You'll be a great training partner. It sure beats training by yourself."

"It does. And I really want to see your shikai is capable of."

Masaki shifted uncomfortably. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

Rukia didn't notice Masaki's discomfort. "Well, I haven't seen or heard anything like it before. Though, I suppose, there are plenty I don't know about. Still, yours seems particularly unique."

Masaki laughed nervously. "One could argue that every zanpakuto is unique."

Rukia smiled. "True. Well, we better head back. The sun is going to set soon."

Masaki nodded and pushed herself off the tree and began walking back to the headquarters. When they reached the entrance, the girls separated ways, both agreeing to meet again the next day. Even though the sun was starting to set, Masaki made her way back to the shared office. Only one other person was there, and he greeted Masaki pleasantly. She returned the salutation with her own, and fell into the chair at her desk heavily.

Heaving a sigh, Masaki eventually pushed herself into a straighter posture so she could look at the few papers on the nice wood surface. Pulling her writing utensils closer to herself, Masaki began to read through the documents. It didn't take long to get through them, and when the ink dried, she collected the sheets and straightened them by letting the bottom edge hit the desk. Masaki shot a question to her officemate of where to deliver the papers, and after receiving her answer, Masaki left the office to turn them in.

Leaving as soon as she turned in her paperwork, Masaki made her way towards her room. Masaki weaved her way through the buildings, completely at ease. At point, though, she felt that someone was coming up behind her. To her disappointment, it didn't go away. Several minutes of walking passed and the person behind neither slowed or sped up. That was a bad sign.

Fed up, Masaki stopped and turned to face the possible attacker. However, it was dark and hard to see. Not to mention that the shinigami uniform, the shihakusho, was black; easier to blend into the shadows. Masaki was tired and wanted to sleep, and this made her a bit impatient.

"Come on out. I know you're there!" she called out into the blackness.

Silence. Masaki felt her senses sharpen as the fear induced adrenaline pumped itself into her system. A small sound of movement came from behind her, and she spun, catching the wrist of the fist aimed at her. Another fist came at her, and she caught that one, too. Quickly, she flattened the attacker's arms to his side, and then kneed him in the groin. While he was bent over, she elbowed the back of his neck. He fell with a thump, totally unconscious. Masaki knew this wasn't smart, but she bent over him and the smell of alcohol wafted up into her nose. She rolled her eyes.

_A violent drunk, lovely,_ Masaki thought sarcastically.

Deciding it would be mean to leave the guy in the middle of nowhere, even though he attacked her, she shoved the guy onto her back. She grunted as the unconscious, large man's weight pressed itself on her back. Then, Masaki began walking towards the more populated area of the Seireitei. Lack of battle strength did not mean Masaki wasn't strong in her own way. In the awful war waging through Masaki's life, she was almost always helping to carry the wounded away from the battlefield. And, most often times, they were bigger than her and she was injured herself. She thanked her lucky stars she learned shunpo from the best.

Finding a good place near a bar, Masaki dumped the man on the ground. She sighed happily as the weight lifted. She straightened out and then stretched out her back a bit. Wanting to _not_ get attacked again, Masaki used shunpo to get to her room. Once securely inside, Masaki slid Akumuryu from underneath her obi and placed him in a corner. Desperate to go to sleep, Masaki changed in a flash and crawled underneath the covers. Within a few minutes, Masaki fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a long time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Only one more plotless chapter, maybe. I'll try and pick up the plot really soon, though if you have any ideas, I'm perfectly happy to hear them. I hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway.**


	5. The Living World

From Hell and Back Again

Six months later with nothing exciting happening, Masaki finally got that bit of excitement: she got her first mission. Now, Karakura already had a resident shinigami, but Masaki's post was right next door. If she wanted, and there was nothing to do in her town, she could always stop by for a visit. And that's exactly what Masaki planned to do.

Masaki decided that Rukia would tell anyone asking for her where she was, but other than that, Masaki left for her mission without a word. Frankly, she was too hyped up to give proper goodbyes. Stepping through the gate reminded Masaki of all the times she came here with her mother or father. Masaki forced herself back to the present and continued on her way.

Upon exiting the senkaimon, Masaki's pager beeped, alerting her to the presence of a Hollow. Sighing, Masaki used a slow shunpo over to the rampaging creature, and sliced its mask neatly in half. After that, Masaki began to patrol. The town she was stationed at was not very big, so Masaki got done fairly soon. With light still out, Masaki decided to take her visit to her hometown.

Forgetting that she was still a spiritual being, Masaki strolled down the sidewalk as if she were an ordinary citizen. Even when her body was alive, she had never been an ordinary citizen, not by a long shot. Soon after she entered Karakura, Masaki became totally absorbed. It had been so long since she had seen it as anything but ruins. She felt content as she looked at all the shops still standing and people mulling about. Then, Akumuryu ruined it.

You know, at the rate you're going, you're probably going to run into someone you know.

Masaki scowled. _No, I'm not._

_Well, you certainly aren't being careful with your presence._

_Am too._

_Are not._

_Are._

_Not._

_You are so juvenile._

_So are you._

_What – _

She was abruptly cut off as she bumped into someone, stumbled back a step, slipped, and fell onto her butt. All within five seconds. Wincing in momentary pain, Masaki looked up to apologize to whomever she had run into. Her words froze in her throat as she stared at the curvy, long haired teenage girl standing in front of her with a familiar surprised expression. Masaki's jaw fell slack a tiny bit as she realized she was staring at Inoue Orihime. Of all the people she ran into, it had to be the chatterbox.

"Kuchiki-san?" she asked.

Crap. Of course Orihime, of all people, would immediately make the connection between her and Rukia. Masaki stood up and brushed herself off.

"Do you mean Rukia-chan?" A dumb question, but it was better to play it as if she didn't know anything. Though, after six months of doing it, Masaki was getting sick of it.

Orihime blinked. "You're not…Kuchiki-san?"

Masaki smiled. "No, I'm not. I do know her, though."

Orihime's countenance brightened considerably at this information, and she clapped her hands together. "I'm so excited to meet one of Kuchiki-san's friends. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine."

Masaki smiled at Orihime's warmth and friendliness. Now, if only she would keep quiet…

"I'm Inoue Orihime. Oh, but you probably already knew that if you know Kuchiki-san," flawed reasoning, but true and still made sense. "You should meet the others! I'm sure Kuchiki-san's told you all about them, too. Stay right here, I'll be back!"

As soon as the words rushed out of the enthusiastic girl's mouth, not letting Masaki get a word in edgewise, Orihime took off running in the opposite direction. Masaki began to protest, but Orihime was already half way down the street.

Great. Now what am I supposed to do? And don't say 'I told you so', Akumuryu, or I'll strangle you.

Akumuryu sighed. He desperately wanted to say it, but he valued his life, though it was unsure if one could kill one's own zanpakuto.

Masaki didn't have time to think because the pattering of feet came towards her. That was unbelievably quick, Masaki noted. They mustn't have been very far away. Two pairs of curious inspective eyes traced over her. The third set was lit with excitement. Masaki shifted nervously as Ishida Uryu and Sado "Chad" Yasutora examined her and understanding lit their eyes. Masaki wanted to groan as all three turned to huddle and whisper.

Masaki could hear every word. "Excuse me, I'm five feet away and can hear everything you're saying. 'Kuchiki look-alike' hurts my feelings, you know. I _do_ have a name. I'm not a robot or a clone. Nor am I some long lost relative or Hisana mysteriously back from the grave or in disguise. You can just throw those Rukia related theories out the window."

Immediately, the three friends stopped talking and turned to face Masaki with incredulous expressions. Masaki cocked an eyebrow, daring the humans to speak. Ishida recovered his composure first, and his face turned suspicious, but she was fairly confident that she had nothing to worry about.

"Then how do you explain your appearance?"

"Coincidence, quirky genetics at work," Masaki replied immediately.

"It has to be more than that."

It was, but Masaki wasn't about to admit that. "_If_ it is, and I say if, then it's beyond my comprehension."

Ishida seemed to halfway buy Masaki's lie, Orihime bought it completely, with the excitement of a new mystery to daydream about, and Chad…well, it was hard to tell. Masaki wanted to sigh in exasperation, but she refrained from doing so for fear of bringing back the suspicion. Instead, she gazed steadily at them, wondering how to break the awkward silence. However, someone beat her to the punch.

"What are you doing here? If you don't mind me asking. Are you replacing the other shinigami here?" Ishida asked, halfway between polite and rude.

Masaki's mouth twitched. Ishida always acted this way around her father even though they were friends. He acted slightly different around her and it just so happened that his Ichigo-reserved behavior amused her.

"No, I'm not replacing anyone. I'm stationed in the next town over. I just dropped by to see what all the fuss was about with this place."

It was a believable lie. Shinigami who had never been to Karakura but knew about the Aizen debacle (which was pretty much everyone) would wonder what was so special about the spiritually saturated town. This time all three of them believed Masaki.

"Do you like it so far?" Orihime asked with far too much energy.

Masaki couldn't help but chuckle. "Out of the small portion I've seen, yes."

Orihime smiled happily while the guys caught onto the phrasing.

"Small part?" Chad asked minimally.

"I just arrived when I bumped into Inoue-san here." Masaki flashed a smile at the giddy girl.

The guys had a look the basically said "oooh." For a minute, nobody said anything else. Masaki, in the silence, thought of something she needed to get out of the way if she were to continue contact with the other three – which was more than likely. She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"May I ask who you two are? I know you're friends with Inoue-san, obviously, but I don't think I've caught your names."

She watched Ishida push his glassed up his nose before answering. "Ishida Uryu."

Chad also replied with a concise answer. "Sado Yasutora."

Masaki smiled gently at them. "Itayama Masaki."

"Ah, you know, Masaki-chan, you haven't met Kurosaki-kun yet. Why don't we go see him?"

Masaki's heart almost immediately started accelerating so fast she could feel it. Her eyes were wide with the thought of meeting her father. Eagerness and euphoria exploded in her at the idea. However, what overrode the excited emotions was anxiety. What would happen if she met him right now? He was still recovering his powers, after all. What would the consequences be if he saw her and thought only of Rukia? What if the beans spilled because someone figured it out? What if her reaction to him pushed her to do something that revealed everything prematurely? No. She should not see Kurosaki Ichigo now.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Masaki realized they were waiting for a response. She laughed nervously and said, "Not today. I probably should get back to my area."

Just then, her pager went off, alerting her to a Hollow. _Perfect timing_, Masaki thought. Giving the three a quick goodbye, Masaki did shunpo to leave. The three humans were utterly confused, to say the least. As she flew above rooftops, she focused in on the spiritual energy of the Hollows. There had been two that'd shown up on her pager. She didn't need it to locate them once the Hollows stepped out of the garganta.

If there was one ability (or lack thereof) that she did _not_ inherit from her father, it was the poor spiritual energy detection. Though Ichigo had worked hard on the ability, he only reached about average level at best. However, the Hollow powers Masaki received enabled her to sense Hollow energy better than other types. She was still good at sensing the others because her mother drilled it into her at an early age, refusing to let Masaki be "useless like her father" in that regard.

When Masaki arrived, she noticed these Hollows were the weakest things on the planet. Landing in between the two, Masaki sliced the one on her left vertically and spun to cut the other horizontally. Both disappeared within seconds. Masaki sighed. She didn't want weak things to slay, but she didn't want beyond-her-capability-Espada-level either. Somewhere in the middle would be nice. She was doubtful of that, though. Fate did not allow her many things.

Masaki slung her sword over her shoulders, a pose she picked up from her father without even realizing. She proceeded to patrol the town for hours, but nothing popped up. Not even one soul to konso. Letting out a sigh, Masaki knew this mission was going to be ridiculously boring. Masaki was already itching to go back to Karakura, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. For one, she just left, and two, she would be bombarded by questions from Ishida and the others surely thought of in her absence.

Interrupting her musings hours later was the cry of a Hollow that her soul pager _just_ picked up on. _Lazy bums, _Masaki thought at the Twelfth Division members. They were the ones that monitored the equipment that helped detect Hollow appearances. As far as Masaki knew, said technology occasionally needed fine tuning and check ups. Overall, she didn't know much about the Research and Development Institute or whatever it was called nor did she know much about the Twelfth Division. She just knew they were helpful and to avoid their captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri at all costs. Well, that was until he died.

Again, the Hollow was a small fry, but what confused her was that there was not a single ghost here. Not to mention most of the humans were already in bed. Can't be an opportunistic attack, so what was it doing here? Masaki didn't contemplate long as she dodged an attack aimed at her. She aimed a simple kido at the mask, and the Hollow disintegrated. _That was easy. Too easy_.

If Masaki didn't know any better, she could have sworn that it was sent for reconnaissance. Why send a low level Hollow for that, though? It would be destroyed before it even made it back to report. The kind of report given wouldn't be detailed because low level Hollows only cared about devouring souls; a tendency towards one-track minds. It puzzled Masaki, but decided to let it go. She was thinking too hard; war instincts kicked in easily.

Just in case, though, she decided to stay awake all night to see if any more would come. None did during her graveyard shift, and she heaved a sigh. There goes a perfectly good night's sleep, completely wasted. Well, better to be safe than sorry. She knew the truth of that statement all too well. Shaking off the oncoming thoughts of her life before, she thought about who she would tell her mission to first, just to occupy her mind.

_I probably shouldn't tell Okaa-san first, because then she would have no one to talk to about it and get over her shock. Possibly Renji-ji, seeing as he could be able to help Okaa-san when she hears about it. But then again, he might blather to her before I get the chance to tell her. He always did have a big mouth. Hm. Telling Ojii-san would be pointless, even if he can keep it a secret from Otou-san. The other shinigami wouldn't be much help if they knew, and might actually make things worse. And again, things might reach people before I can tell them. The Vizards are a possibility, but they might want to tell Otou-san, if not everything, the vital information and that still might be dangerous for him to know._

_Urahara…yeah, Urahara would be a good choice. He always withholds information but still helps. I think telling him first would be wise. Now, when to tell him…Soon would be good, but I need an excuse to visit him. If I just barge in unannounced and drop the bombshell, he might not believe me at all. He'll be suspicious no matter when I tell him, but if I tell him without him getting a sense of me, it'll be near impossible to convince him. And he's probably going to be the easiest to convince. In that case, I'll wait until the opportunity arises._

And so Masaki decided to wait, and wait she did. In the meantime, she continued to patrol the town. Around sunrise, she found a teenaged soul running into town, being chased by a Hollow. Jumping off a nearby roof, she unsheathed Akumuryu and sliced the Hollow neatly in half. She landed silently and turned to find the boy staring at her incredulously. He couldn't be older than Masaki at about sixteen years. So young…it was sad.

Masaki smiled to put the teen at ease. "It's okay now. It's over."

The boy snapped out of his awe, and lamely said, "Thanks."

"No problem," Masaki replied casually. "But I'm afraid it's time to move on, and I can help with that."

He raised an eyebrow, skeptical. Masaki picked up on what he was thinking. How can someone who just killed a monster help a soul pass on? She couldn't help but giggle.

"Double duty. It's what we shinigami are for. You'll learn more when you reach Soul Society, which is basically heaven. However, what you'll hear about shinigami there is mostly prejudice, but don't completely disregard what others say because some of it is true. Just a bit of advice for you."

"Um, thanks. What's your name?" the boy shifted nervously. He was shy, Masaki thought, and smiled.

"Itayama Masaki."

"Yamakawa Hiroji," he replied, smiling lightly back.

"Pleasure to meet you," Masaki said as she turned her sword so the blade pointed towards her, and then she pressed the butt of her hilt to the boy's forehead. He disappeared in a bright light.

Masaki visibly relaxed as she sheathed her zanpakuto. Job well done, if she said so herself. For a moment, Masaki deliberated what to do next. Seeing the rising sun, Masaki decided to enjoy the view. She wandered around until she found a good spot. It was a riverbank that Masaki had suspicions was the same one as the one in Karakura, and she sat down on the dewy grass, removing Akumuryu and placing him beside her. Masaki watched the horizon morph colors from vibrant, fiery ones to faded pastels.

Once the passionate hues faded completely, Masaki sighed and rose to her feet. Grabbing Akumuryu, Masaki decided to patrol again. Mostly because she had nothing better to do and because it was her job. It stayed clear for most of her round, but as she finished, the clouds began to turn gray. She turned her face toward the sky and frowned. It was going to rain soon, she just knew it. Masaki loathed the rain. It made her think about the cold corpses or her loved ones that she carried or held and rocked back and forth. And being wet reminded her of the blood spattered on her face and flowing freely from her own wounds.

Scowling at the sky, Masaki reminisced for all of a minute before lowering her head and carrying on. When patrolling was over and done with, Masaki rested on a rooftop people watching. Even that got boring, and Masaki pouted at her predicament. At least in Soul she could actually go and hang out in places with other people. Here, she couldn't be seen and there was no one else to talk to. This made her wonder _why_ she had been sent here instead of an unseated officer. This was clearly below her skill level, so why was she here? Masaki shook her head, figuring she'd never get an answer to that question.

As if a higher being took pity on her, a Hollow announced its presence with its reiatsu. _Then_ her pager went off. Looked like she couldn't rely on the pitiful device. And now that Masaki had been around the town so many times, she had a general idea of where the Hollow was. She took off quickly as she hoped that the Hollow would be a least bit of a challenge.

When Masaki arrived, she was confused. The Hollow was in an _unpopulated_ area. In fact, it was in a forest clearing; very far away from people. Now this was alarming. Hollow turned around to face her, drool slipping from it large mouth. Masaki cringed in disgust. And it wasn't just the drool; the whole massive form seemed to be dripping something. What it was, Masaki couldn't tell, but she had a feeling she'd soon find out.

Besides the oozing liquid, the Hollow was huge, a little less than half the height of the forest. Though size could be deceiving. What got her was the _weight_ of the thing. The tree root one foot was standing on was snapped in half and the earth had sunk considerably. And there were _four _feet. The legs were long, about three-fourths of its height. It had a tail that swished back and forth like a pendulum, and the tip looked razor sharp. Well, maybe this one will be more of a challenge.

"Shinigami," the Hollow growled. "Are you the one assigned to this town?"

Now Masaki was suspicious. "Maybe. Who wants to know?"

Unfortunately, the Hollow took that answer as a yes, and lunged at her. Well, more like swung a limb at her. She easily dodged. Hollow was slow, possibly because of its size, but she knew that even big ones could be quick. Yet, this one didn't seem to be that type. She pushed herself off a tree, hurdling towards the Hollow's big, white mask. Airborne, Masaki unsheathed her zanpakuto and prepared to strike, but all it met was with flesh. The Hollow had raised one of its legs to defend its mask. Half the leg was chopped off, but the Hollow neither fell nor faltered.

The Hollow must be good at balancing its weight somehow. The monster let out a roaring cackle at Masaki's slightly stunned expression. However, she immediately came to attention when said beast laughed. Again she launched herself at the Hollow, but instead of her catching it off guard, the Hollow twirled its body so some of the slime hurdled towards her face. She shielded her face with her sleeve, which began to dissolve. Acid. This was going to be tricky, she thought and smiled. Now this was more like it.

All of a sudden, the Hollow swung its tail toward her, and Masaki jumped into the air, easily avoiding the blow. She watched it scratch a tree, and the whole thing was chopped clean through, the falling tree making a huge _boom_ as it fell. So the tail _was_ razor sharp as she expected. Blade like tail _and_ acid covered body? Masaki frowned. _Now that is just unfair._

Masaki stood above the Hollow, staring down at it and wondering how to kill it and not get poisoned or sliced in half. Maybe long distance attack would be better. Before Masaki could finish thinking, the Hollow stood on its hind legs, standing at the height of the tress with its height, and swatted at her with its remaining front leg. Caught off guard, she got hit and hurdled towards the ground, breaking through a tree and dug up earth as she slid across the ground head first. She moaned while she berated herself for not paying attention. So much for her war instincts.

She struggled to sit up as her head throbbed painfully, bleeding profusely at the back and top, also trickling down her face. She also felt broken bones, but not too many. Acid had dissolved the shoulder and most of the top half of her right sleeve. Luckily for her, the palm of the creature _wasn't_ toxic. Otherwise, she'd be dead. She tore the rest of her sleeve off and discarded it to the side. It'll only get in the way.

Inhaling deeply, Masaki used shunpo to get in front of the Hollow's face, but the Hollow was ready for her. It spit acidic saliva from its mouth directly at Masaki, and she jumped back to hopefully get out of its reach, but, alas, it ate its way through the top of her shihakusho and got the top layer of her skin on her torso. She hissed in pain.

Getting fed up with the ridiculous Hollow, Masaki stepped up her level of shunpo and jammed her sword in the middle of the Hollow's mask. She watched it crack and the Hollow cry in rage and pain as it finally split. Masaki heaved a huge sigh of relief, and then cringed in pain.

Man, was she going to be sore tomorrow. First, though, she needed to stop the bleeding from her head wounds. Looks like she needed to take a trip to Karakura to visit Orihime or Urahara. Well, she wasn't exactly supposed to know Orihime could heal people, so Urahara was her only option. Well, it seemed like Masaki finally found her excuse. After all, healing kido was hard to do on oneself.

Masaki did as much first aid on herself that was possible, and kicked off to find her way to Karakura. She was in deep pain by the time she reached the edge of said town. Dang, she must've broken a couple ribs, or at least had fissures. Not to mention the slightly burned skin on her torso. Rejecting the urge to sigh as it would only lead to more pain, Masaki walked through the streets, automatically making her way to a certain store.

Urahara Shoten in all its pre-war glory. She smiled at all the fun times she had here, despite the urge to often strangle the shopkeeper. Masaki then barged right in, forgetting her manners. She was so used to the lack of formality with Urahara that she nearly forgot he didn't know her. A presence made itself known behind her, and she whirled around, cringing slightly at the action.

Urahara was standing behind her, his white fan closed and tapping the side of his neck. A smile was plastered on his face, and it was somewhat unfriendly, but Masaki only caught onto that because she knew the man well.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Don't you know entering someone's home without asking or knocking is rude?" he asked, his voice holding a tint of warning in it.

Masaki paled slightly as she realized what she'd done, but came up with an answer, "Isn't this a store? I thought anybody could enter, seeing as the open sign is still there."

"Then shouldn't you be in the front? The back is off limits to customers."

Dang. He had her there. " I couldn't afford to wait."

"Oh? How so?"

Masaki sighed with exasperation, wincing as the pain hit her again. She couldn't keep it off her face, and she very well couldn't keep up this banter forever. Besides, she _was_ planning on telling Urahara everything anyway.

"I had a run in with an acidic Hollow, and I did not come out unscathed. If you were paying any attention at all, you would know." She scowled for a moment. Her face smoothed out immediately when she saw a flash of surprise cross Urahara's face. What was _that_ for? What did she do?

"An acidic Hollow? That's not unheard of, but certainly not commonplace," Urahara Kisuke said casually.

"Yeah, well, when they show up in secluded and unpopulated areas, I would call that unheard of."

"Ah, now _that_ is unusual."

Masaki merely rolled her eyes. She was tempted to say 'Duh,' but refrained from doing so simply to be slightly polite. Masaki watched as Urahara contemplated whatever it was he was thinking about. Then he motioned for Masaki to follow him, and she obliged. They entered a small room with a short, round table and pillows for seats surrounding it. It was all too familiar to Masaki though she'd hardly been inside the room herself. She often peeked inside, trying to glean pieces of conversation her parents had with Urahara. Most of the time, she failed to catch what they were saying, as her parents were consciously aware that their daughter was there. But sometimes they would forget and raise their voices, and that's when Masaki heard what they were discussing.

The girl was brought out of her musings when Urahara cleared his throat, already sitting on one of the cushions on the floor. Masaki immediately made a move to sit down, but hissed in pain when she bent over. Urahara finally took notice of her injured appearance and called for Tessai. Almost instantly the tall, dark skinned man appeared and within seconds noticed the guest. He glanced at his employer and then knew what needed to be done. Masaki wasn't bothered by the silent communication; her parents did it all the time.

Tessai began to work on Masaki, and in a matter of minutes, she was healed. The man was brilliant; such a shame he died. When Masaki sat down, she sighed. How was she going to explain all this? Now that she had the opportunity to tell someone, she had no idea how to do it! Urahara, as if sensing the internal struggle, asked a question.

"Where exactly did this Hollow show up?"

"In the forest outside Makachi. I'm the shinigami recently stationed there."

"Ah. So you're the new seventh seat of the Thirteenth Division."

Masaki felt sweat drip in disbelief. Even _he _heard? Wow, just wow. "Yes, I am. And…" Masaki sucked in a large breath and, "…my real name is Kurosaki Masaki."

Masaki had to hand it to Urahara and Tessai, both men's eyes only went wide for about a second. Understanding then lit Urahara's eyes. Masaki watched Urahara put two and two together, and was relieved that her explanation was going to be a lot shorter than she expected. She was right to go to Urahara first. Replacing the knowledge in the ex-captain's eyes was a mischievous glint. Questions were coming, and Masaki braced herself.

"_Kurosaki-san_, if your identity in Soul Society is fake, may I ask why you're telling _me_ about it?"

"One, because your exiled, and two, because _I trust you_."

Masaki knew that the last statement threw Urahara for a loop, because the silence lasted for a whole five seconds.

"I know you've already figured this out, but I'm just going to say this anyway. Kurosaki Ichigo is my father and Kurosaki Rukia is my mother, though you would know her as Kuchiki Rukia. I'm named after my grandmother, and my little brother, Kaien, was named after the former fukutaicho of the Thirteenth Division." Masaki talked faster in her nervousness, but she knew Urahara would keep up.

And Urahara was clearly amused, whether at her nervousness or at the information itself, Masaki couldn't quite tell.

"I see. I had no idea that Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san were that close."

"Liar. And they aren't _that_ close…yet. Obviously, I come from the future," it was a relief to finally say the words aloud, "and you're the only one I can trust to help me for now. Nobody else can know anything I'm telling you tonight until I tell them. And that won't be for another six months."

Urahara raised an eyebrow, but Masaki pressed on before he could speak. "In six months my father will finally regain all of his powers. Then I can have certain people help me with my mission. The thing is, in the future, Aizen will return full force and pretty much destroy Soul Society and the Living World. We need my fa – Ichigo to help with that war. He's the key to defeating the Devil and stopping Hell on Earth. However, a year before Aizen makes his move, Ichigo disappears. Nobody can find him, not anywhere, no matter how hard we try."

She could feel the tears rising, but she pushed them back. "And I'm here to make sure he _doesn't _disappear. If he does, then to find him before Aizen attacks. It's the only way to prevent so many lives from being lost." She choked as all the images of her loved ones flashed in her mind, bloodied and broken and lifeless. Masaki closed her eyes and inhaled, trying to force the tears back and remove the images from her mind. Alas, they were forever burned into her memory. Once she felt calm enough, Masaki slowly opened her brown eyes.

Urahara regarded Masaki seriously. "I can't imagine what you've been through, but I'll help you in any way I can."

Masaki nodded solemnly. "Now, if you tell anyone, especially the shinigami, I'll murder you in your sleep. Tell Ishida, Orihime, or Chad, I'll murder you. Tell the Vizards, I'll murder you. Tell or even _hint_ at anything to my father, I'll torture you using every method I've ever come across and _maybe_ I'll kill you. Just so you know, I learned a lot of them from Aizen and the Arrancar."

Urahara felt sweat drip down his head, not because he was nervous but because he was incredulous. "Okay, okay. I won't tell anyone." Urahara smiled at Masaki.

"Not Yoruichi, either. Tell Jinta and Ururu only as is necessary."

_Dang, this girl is good._ Urahara sighed.

"Fine. Not a soul. So how can I be of service?"

Masaki hesitated. She never really had gotten that far. She went with the first thing that came to mind. "For now, just keep an eye on him. Don't be obvious about it, either. By now my father should be at the point where he was right _before_ he met my mother power wise. Meaning he can see, hear, touch, talk to, and sense spiritual beings but doesn't actually have his abilities. In other words, be stealthy about your spying. My father may be dense, but he's not a complete idiot."

Masaki saw a look on Urahara's face that told her otherwise. Masaki rolled her eyes and conceded. "Okay, he may be an idiot now, but he's not_ oblivious_ in the way we're talking about. Keep in mind I only knew my father the way he was _after _I was born and anything from before that was told by me by others. And the way I knew him, he wasn't so much of an idiot.

"My dad was smart about a lot of things and was attentive. Caring and loving, he was also strong and protective. Maybe a bit overprotective in some ways, now that I think about it. He was blunt, but sometimes gentle in the way he said things. Well, to me, anyway. Not so much other people. He laughed and smiled a lot," Masaki reminisced, her eyes and voice far away. She could picture him so clearly.

"He spent a lot of time with me, Okaa-san, and Kaien. As much as he could, I'd say. Even when training me, he was the perfect father, albeit more serious. I loved him, and he was my ultimate role model." Masaki's gaze fell as she said, "You can see how devastating it was for me when he left. My last words ever to him were, 'Just go away.' Granted, not the worst thing I could've said, but it still hurt him. I didn't even mean it, either! I was just mad and took it out on him. After that, he vanished without a trace. I didn't get the chance to apologize. I often get the feeling it's all _my _fault he left and never came back."

Urahara was silent for a minute, contemplating what to say to this confession. But, as always, he didn't have to think for long. "Knowing Kurosaki-san, he probably didn't let it bother him for long. No need to feel guilty because this is your chance to apologize. Or at least make amends, though it's not your fault Kurosaki-san disappeared. And I'm glad to hear he becomes a wonderful parent eventually," he grins widely, amusement shining through that, "Looking at him now, though, it's hard to tell that he'll be like how you described him."

"Maybe so, but my mother and father get married in only about two and a half years from now."

Urahara was caught off guard by that news. "That long?"

"It takes about a year for them to go from nakama to being in love. And approximately another year for Otou-san to convince Byakuya-ji to let the two date. Byakuya-ji's final words on the matter were, after months of pestering on my father's part, 'If you're so sure you love her, why don't you just marry her?' And then he walked away to start arranging the marriage. It must've taken all of Byakuya-ji's will power to force those words through his mouth."

Urahara burst out guffawing, partially because of the story, but mostly hearing Byakuya being called 'uncle' and Byakuya's imagined reaction if he heard that. Masaki waited for the man to calm down. It didn't take too long, thank goodness.

"Satisfied?" Masaki asked, impatience settling in.

Urahara didn't answer, but instead asked, "Is there anything else you need?"

Masaki looked confused for a minute, and then remembered her excuse to visit the blonde shop owner in the first place. "A new shihakusho would be nice."

Urahara gave Masaki a knowing look and rose to his feet. He nodded to Tessai, and the larger, dark skinned man bowed out of the room. Masaki stood up as well, knowing that things were wrapping up. Neither said a word as they waited for Tessai to come back. When Tessai did come back and handed Masaki a new shihakusho, Urahara kindly showed her to a room where she could change.

Having changed, Masaki headed straight for the exit, and to her surprise, found Urahara waiting there. Replaying her conversation with said shopkeeper in her mind quickly, and realized that there was something else Urahara could help with. She didn't wait for Urahara to speak before putting in her request.

"One more thing, Urahara, if my mother doesn't come back here in six months, manufacture an excuse to get her here. And don't make it over the top, or she'll be suspicious. I'd prefer to exist, thank you."

Without so much as a backwards glance or waiting for a reply, Masaki exited the shop. After leaving the shop, Masaki quickly used shunpo to get away, back to her designated area. The second she stepped into Makachi, she was greeted by the presence of a Hollow.

_Another one?_ Masaki thought incredulously. She changed direction to meet said Hollow. Mere seconds later, her pager went off. _Ugh, I either need to turn it off or report it broken._ Sighing in agitation, Masaki sped up.

Upon arriving at the scene of the crime, Masaki gave pause. This Hollow, she instinctively knew, was different than the previous ones. Masaki charged, Akumuryu secure in her right hand. She got close to the mask and swung, but the Hollow disappeared in a burst of sonido just before the edge of the blade made contact. Masaki didn't allow herself to be startled. Masaki would not allow herself to be distracted.

Masaki's eyes, trained to follow an Espada's movements, easily saw where the Hollow was going. She spun quickly, and kicked off the ground. Her shunpo had to be kicked up one notch. She brought her zanpakuto down, going for a horizontal slice don the face, but its tongue shot out and wrapped itself around the blade. The Hollow tried to yank it from Masaki's grasp, but she held on. However, she went flying with her sword instead.

This turned to be beneficial for Masaki; close proximity to the mask provided the perfect opportunity. Infusing some of her spiritual energy into her foot, she slammed it into the Hollow's face. It disappeared and Masaki landed gracefully on the ground, sword free.

_Odd. A low level Hollow like that shouldn't be able to use sonido like that, let alone at all. And not be super acidic like the other one. Something strange is going on here._

Now on alert, Masaki spent another night and day patrolling, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. Grumbling under her breath, Masaki made her way towards Karakura almost absentmindedly.

_You know what I think?_ Akumuryu asked out of the blue.

_No, I have no idea, _Masaki replied sarcastically.

_I think someone's spying on you._

Masaki let out an exasperated sigh. _I know that already. Tell me something I _don't_ know._

_Okay, I think that someone is trying to snuff out who you are._

Masaki frowned. _That could be bad._

_Could be? That _is_ bad._

Masaki closed her eyes, trying to fight the rising panic in her system. No, she was going to push all such thoughts away. She needed more time away from suspicions and hidden motives. She heard Akumuryu sigh.

_Your instincts are going to fade if you keep doing that,_ Akumuryu remarked.

_But being paranoid won't do me any good, either. At least, not yet._

_Yet being the key word there._

_Oh, be quiet, you. Well, whoever is spying on us is going to be in for a world of hurt once I find out who they are._

_Agreed._

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><p><strong>AN: I'm alive! I'm sorry for the long wait, but here I am. I know I promised it would pick up soon, and I'll try my best to pick up the pace, but the way I have it planned kind of makes the progression slow. I'm still open to ideas, but I do have some things planned out. Hopefully I'll update again soon. I apologize for any errors you see in the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. And Makachi is a totally made up town, just in case you were wondering.**


	6. Memories

**A/N: Hey! I'm back from the dead. (Again.) This chapter of sorts is a bonus chapter of scenes that mysteriously popped into my head while not working on the story. They all revolve around Masaki, whether from her perspective or not. I will try to get started on the actual story again. Soon. This is for BadGirlxD who most recently reviewed me and was awesome about it. I hope you enjoy these extras!**

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><p>From Hell and Back Again: Memories<p>

Masaki was hiding behind her father's legs as she and her parent stood on the door step. Nervousness coursed through her as she stared at he door, waiting. Anticipation tensed her muscles, and she quickly pulled her head back behind her father as she heard the door fly open with a bang. As something went flying, Masaki's father bent down to soothe her, and the blur went over her father's head. Masaki turned her head to look at the heap of a person in the middle of the road behind her, but her father gently turned his head back toward him.

"Masaki, I know he's scary, but he's harmless. He won't hurt you. He's an idiot, he can't do anything to you."

Something Masaki's father said sparked in her grandfather, still lying in the street. In an instant, he was up and charged at Masaki's father. Just as quick, her father spun and slammed her grandfather into the ground. Masaki stared at her father in complete awe. Immediately after, her father turned back around and picked Masaki up and carried her into the house.

Her father walked into the dinning room where a huge poster hung on the wall with a picture of a beautiful woman, smiling brightly. Masaki blinked twice before returning the smile. Something about the woman on the wall made her happy, just absolutely blissful. Masaki's father, whose head was turned to his daughter as he watched her reaction, smiled gently. He had a feeling Masaki would react like his, and it made him happy.

"This is your grandmother," he explained. He continued as Masaki looked around, seeming to search for the beautiful lady who was her grandparent. She didn't notice her father's face turn sad, but noticed the sadness in his voice as he continued, "She's not here anymore. But she's watching over us."

Masaki turned her head to her father, tears welling up in her eyes. Surprise flitted across her father's face, wondering briefly if she understood the meaning of his mother's passing or if it was just because her grandmother wasn't there and she wouldn't get to meet her. Smiling reassuringly, Masaki's father said, "But she'll always be a part of us. In fact, you were named after your grandma. You'll have a part of her with you forever. If you ever want to learn more about her, you can always come here and ask your insane idiot of a grandfather."

Masaki's face brightened considerably at this prospect, and she hugged her father tightly in thanks. He patted her back gently until Masaki pulled back and asked for her father to put her down. She ran over to her grandfather, who had snuck in behind his son and granddaughter, and hugged him around the legs.

"Sorry about Grandma, Grandpa. But I'm here now. You don't have to be sad anymore." Masaki's cute, soft voice seemed to echo in the house as both her father and grandfather stared at her in surprise. Just a few minutes ago, Masaki had been terrified of her relative, and now she seemed to be trying to comfort him.

Kurosaki Isshin smiled widely, a mixture of warmth and sadness; sadness about his wife and that his granddaughter understood already about her grandmother. Never underestimate children; it was a lesson he had learned the hard way. He bent down and scooped up Masaki and spun her in a circle, her giggles sending joy through his body. Then he lowered her to settle her on his waist and proceeded to animatedly tell her all about her grandmother.

Masaki was instantly absorbed in Isshin's stories, happy to hear about her namesake. She was unaware that her father was watching them with a pleasantly surprised face that quickly turned into a face filled with pure love for his family. This visit had gone beyond well; it had exceeded his expectations. Kurosaki Ichigo followed after his father and daughter, who were taking the grand tour of the house, rather pleased, and listened to the stories about the woman who had raised him.

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><p>Ishida Uryu was sitting at home, sipping at some tea, contemplating some things. More specifically, he was thinking about a certain orange haired shinigami, whom he could barely admit to himself and the person in question that Kurosaki Ichigo was Uryu's friend. Even though Ichigo was a full-fledged shinigami now (though his body was still alive, by some miracle), he still lived in the Living World, and in Karakura no less. Though, if he had to live in the Living World, it's not a surprise that he would choose to stay in Karakura. However, Ichigo did seem to live in Soul Society, too, and how Ichigo managed to balance the two, Uryu had no idea.<p>

Last time Uryu had managed to get together with the orange haired man, which had been a while (too long for comfort, which Uryu would not admit), the shinigami had been appointed a captain of the Ninth Division. That had made the man even more busy, made the balancing act he was going through even more delicate. He sighed in irritation, and he slurped his tea unceremoniously. Ichigo always did the impossible, but even this must have been stressing the shinigami. Uryu shook his head in irritation. Ichigo almost always did things the hard way, and Uryu felt frustrated by that but also a bit of awe. How could Ichigo do that? Again, Uryu was reminded of the fact that Ichigo accomplished the impossible no matter what. Well, at least it was just he and the new Kurosaki Rukia dealing with this; having someone else to support him would definitely be beneficial for him.

Uryu wasn't surprised when Ichigo and the former Kuchiki Rukia got married. In fact, he had been invited and had attended the wedding. It was a huge event due to the plethora of guests; Uryu knew that Ichigo had befriended a majority of the shinigami, but it hadn't really hit him how many people that actually was until that moment. It was a beautiful ceremony, Uryu had thought with surprise at the aesthetics of the ceremony. He hadn't had much faith, before he arrived, that the shinigami would do appropriate decorations. (Considering what they wear, it wasn't hard to doubt them.)

All the same, it had been a great, happy day, and Ichigo's face had been so bright and happy that the scowl was nearly gone. Nearly, but still, it had been a testament to Ichigo's elation that his face transformed like that. Uryu had been truly happy for the orange haired shinigami. He had even said as much to Ichigo and Rukia to them on that day. It was a one time thing.

"Good for you, Kurosaki. I'm happy for you. You as we'll, Kuchi - ah, Kurosaki-san," Uryu told them when he finally managed to break through the crowd surrounding them. He pushed his glasses up his nose, sun glistening off the lenses.

Uryu noticed the newly weds' smiles at Uryu's correction; Ichigo proudly, Rukia shyly. A smile wormed its way onto Uryu's face as well, and for a brief moment the three merely stared at each other.

"Thanks, Ishida," Ichigo managed to say before the couple got swept away by the throng once more.

Breaking out of the memory as a knock sounded through the nearly empty house, Uryu set down his tea to go answer the door. The reiatsu of he guest gave her away before Uryu had even left the room. His lips quirked up in a small smile as he turned the knob on the door. On the other side was another of Uryu's close friends, Inoue Orihime. Her face was flushed, a few beads of sweat collected at her hairline, her breath coming out in heavy gasps, and her body bent over with her hands on her knees told Uryu that the woman had been running to get here.

"Come on in, Inoue-san," Uryu said, inviting the kind, tired woman inside. He led her back to the kitchen table where he had been a minute or two before, and went to go get her some tea as she sat down. After Orihime had her cup of tea in her hands and Uryu had finished refilling his, Orihime got down to business.

"Have you heard, Ishida-kun?"

"Heard what?" Uryu asked cautiously. One could never expect what kind of news got Orihime excited.

"Ichigo-kun and Rukia-chan had their baby!"

Uryu, who had been sipping his tea at that exact moment, spit out the liquid he had had in his mouth and started coughing when some of the tea went down the wrong way. His eyes conveyed his shock as he stared at Orihime, whose eyes were now concerned, having noticed his reaction.

"Are you okay, Ishida-kun?"

Uryu ignored her question and got straight to the point. "They had a baby? I wasn't even aware that Rukia-san was pregnant."

"Really? I thought Ichigo-kun would have told you by now."

Uryu shook his head. It didn't really matter that he didn't know until now. The fact was that the Kurosakis had a new addition to their family, and he was just going to have to accept that. "Was it a girl or a boy?"

Orihime, now back on the topic of the baby, got excited again. "A little girl! She looks just like Rukia-san. They named her Masaki-chan, after Ichigo-kun's mother."

That didn't surprise Uryu at all. After all, from what he knew, Ichigo had been very close to his mother.

"When was she born?" Obviously, it had to be recently, but it most certainly couldn't have been that day if Orihime was here telling him about it.

"Just last week! Ichigo-kun wants us all to go see her."

Uryu would have never expected this. Or, at least, not this soon. The two had only been married for a year! And he never really saw Ichigo as a father. It would be most definitely interesting to see how he ended up raising his daughter. He frowned as he thought of Ichigo being a parent. He was already balancing two lives. How in the world was he going to balance having a kid on top of that?

"Are they in Soul Society right now?" Uryu knew the answer, but it didn't hurt to confirm it.

"Yes. They originally wanted to have Masaki-chan here, to have Ichigo-kun's father deliver her, but she came two weeks early!"

That didn't surprise Uryu either. Being the child of Ichigo and Rukia, of course the child would be special and surprise everyone by coming early. He wouldn't be surprised if she had a lot of reiryoku, too. She would probably be one special little tyke. Uryu nodded in response.

"I think I'll go visit today. Nothing better to do."

Orihime beamed at him. "Perfect! We'll go together. I was planning on going today, too."

Uryu smiled at the woman before taking their empty tea cups to the kitchen. Then they were out the door, heading to Urahara Kisuke's to travel to Soul Society.

Hours later, Uryu was holding the brand new Kurosaki Masaki in his arms, staring down at her sleeping face. He could feel her reiatsu, and it was exceptionally strong for a newborn, which he had expected. And Orihime was right, Masaki did look a lot like Rukia. But there was something about this baby girl that made Uryu feel comfortable and his face soft. He wasn't like this with every baby; maybe it was the fact that it was his friend's child that made him relax like nothing else. Whatever it was, it was a pleasant feeling and something he wouldn't admit to anybody, especially Ichigo. But judging from the look on the brand new father's face, that smug smirk, it seemed like he already knew. Ugh.

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><p>Masaki looked around at all the tall buildings with awe, her young eyes drinking in the sights of the Seireitei. Her brown eyes, the same shade as her father's, jumped from person to building to the tiled floor to another person and back again to the ground. She, being only a little over a year old, still had a while yet before she could walk on her own, and her attention span was considerably tiny, but that was normal for her age. But as soon as she saw flaming red hair, her eyes got glued to one spot. The fan of spiky hair in that outrageous color was inexplicably attention absorbing for the year old girl.<p>

Her parents, Kurosaki Ichigo and Rukia, both noticed where their young child's gaze was pointed at and smiled warmly. Ichigo was the first to address the red haired captain as Rukia was now suddenly busy with a squirming child. "Hey, Renji. Long time no see!"

"Yeah, yeah. I see you've brought the squirt along. How old is she now?" came Renji's casual reply.

"A year."

"Fourteen months."

The couple looked at each other and Ichigo shrugged. Women tended to be more particular when it came to that sort of thing. Renji looked from one Kurosaki to another before settling his eyes on Ichigo.

"Don't even know how old your own kid is?" Renji teased with a smirk.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Of course I know how old my girl is. Just because I don't get technical about her age, doesn't mean I don't know."

Renji continued to smirk as he taunted, "Touchy, touchy."

"Who wouldn't be?" Ichigo scoffed.

"Dada!" a soft, high voice cut into the banter between the two captains, causing both aforementioned people to whip their heads around to stare at the little girl with tufts of black hair staring up a her father, a huge smile on her face, dimples and all. Her arms were stuck out toward her father, reaching impatiently for the man who was raising her.

Quickly, before Masaki could get impatient enough to start crying, Ichigo took Masaki from her mother's arms and swung her up in the air, causing a train of giggles to come bursting out of the infant. Her first word. She had finally said her first word!

Ichigo and Rukia shared a loving and excited glance before Ichigo settled Masaki into his arms. Renji just stared, trying to guess what was going on. Their sudden excitement confused him. Rukia, noticing he redhead's bemused expression, sighed irritatedly. Honestly, he could be so slow sometimes.

"Masaki-chan finally just said her first word, Renji."

"Ooooh," Renji said in realization. Rukia smacked him while Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Ichigo, there's a captains' meetings in about twenty minutes. Well, more like ten minutes now, but you got here just in time. Let's go," Renji said impatiently, just now remembering why he went out to greet the family.

Ichigo handed Masaki off to Rukia, and began to follow after Renji when Masaki spoke up again. "Dada! Regi!"

Both captains froze and turned to look at he little girl doing her attempt at waving goodbye. She had just said her second word, albeit incorrectly, and Renji's face split into a wide grin. Ichigo smacked him upside the head and gave him a grumbled "don't get any ideas" before using shunpo to get to the meeting before him.

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><p>Masaki, now five years old, was wandering around the Seireitei, after having ditched her tutor for the day, Kira Izuru. As much as she liked her lessons in general, there was only so much a five year old could take at one time. Besides, she thought that Kira was a tad boring, and that guaranteed a smaller attention span. Masaki had escaped her current teacher when a Third Division member came up to him to discuss an issue of one kind or another, and she had suppressed her reiatsu and slipped away into the shadows.<p>

However, the Seireitei was a big place, with many twists and turns that a five year old girl would never remember later. A mere few minutes after Masaki left Kira, she found herself lost in the mighty expanse of the city. However, she wasn't bothered by the fact that she was lost. Instead, she was curious, and explored all the nooks and crannies of her home.

She mostly wound her way through the uninhabited places, but, miraculously, she found her way back to the barracks. Only not back to the barracks where she had originally started. She was, in fact, at her father's division barracks: The Ninth Division. All of a sudden, Masaki, when she thought of her father and home and safety, she began to be aware of the setting sun and the pangs of hunger in her stomach. She looked around, bewildered, at her surroundings, and then immediately began running towards the big building painted at the top with the Gotei Thirteen symbol with the kanji for the number nine in the center of it.

The front doors were heavy, but Masaki managed to open them enough to slip in. She quickly ran passed bemused division members, looking for her father. She didn't feel her father's reiatsu anywhere, but her ability to feel people's reiatsu with perfect clarity came and went as it pleased. Her head whipped about from side to side so quickly that she didn't really look forward until she crashed into a person. Up until this point, the shinigami had made a path for Masaki to run. Nobody dared tried to stop the Captain's kid. However, now she had run into somebody, and as she started to fall backward, surely about to land on her butt, hands quickly darted out and hugged the little girl to his hips.

Masaki raised her head to look at a scarred, tattooed face fringed by spiky black hair similar to her father's in style. Hisagi Shuhei's eyes were slightly wide with surprise at seeing his captain's daughter in the Ninth Division barracks. Wasn't she supposed to be at the Third Division, training? Or hanging out or hiding there as training was supposed to be over several hours ago. Ichigo himself had went out to search for her when he noticed she hadn't come back when she was expected to. Did Kira somehow lose track of her? He was only slightly surprised by that; Kira was responsible, but he could get distracted easily. And considering that Masaki was still suppressing her reiatsu, he assumed that Masaki had taken advantage of that. If Ichigo had found out that Kira lost sight of his precious daughter, things were bound to get ugly. Shuhei wanted to sigh. Masaki was most certainly a handful, and smart. And his captain was certainly overprotective, though pretty much everybody knew that even when his wife had been merely pregnant.

Shuhei was so wrapped in his thoughts that he almost missed the face-wide grin spreading on Masaki's face as she recognized the lieutenant. Shuhei blinked once to clear his thoughts and to confirm that reality was indeed reality. He could clearly see the enthusiasm and admiration in the young Kurosaki girl. He smiled warmly back at the girl, and let go of Masaki and stepped back to squat so he was more or less face to face with the five year old.

"Hisagi!" the girl nearly squealed. Shuhei couldn't deny that he girl was precious when she was so energetic, but he wouldn't really admit that to anyone but her parents.

And Masaki was indeed Ichigo's child; addressing him without an honorific. Although part of it, he suspected, was that his title was too big of a word for the little girl to wrap her tongue around. Of course, the other part was that she never heard her father use an honorific pretty much ever, and she spent almost more time with him than even her own mother. That, Shuhei theorized, probably inspired more arguments between the parents. Everybody knew Ichigo and Rukia bickered like nobody else, but it seemed to be more friendly than anything. Shuhei was sure, though, that even they had their serious fights. And their daughter probably induced those serious arguments.

It was obvious to everyone with eyes that the two loved their kid more than anything. You could see it in their behavior, their voices and speech, and the way they traveled between the two worlds frequently. At first, everyone was confused that when Masaki was born, the couple decided to continue living in both worlds. It took a while, but everyone figured out that it was because the family decided that they wanted to give their child the best of both worlds.

However, and Shuhei didn't know if Masaki's parents knew this or not, but it seemed to him that Masaki liked Soul Society much better than the Living World. Every time he had witnessed the threesome exit the senkaimon, he had noticed Masaki look almost relieved that she was there. Of course, not wanting to cause any discord in the family by mentioning it, Shuhei kept silent and his observations to himself.

"What is it, Masaki-san?" Shuhei asked, returning back to the moment. His mind was wandering too much.

"Masaki. My name's Masaki," she said, startling Shuhei. Was this a five year old's way of saying to call her by just her first name? "Where's Daddy?"

Then, as if summoned by her question, Kurosaki Ichigo came walking down the hall, behind Masaki. Before anyone could even utter a sound, Masaki spun around and ran at her father. He bent over, spread his arms wide open, and then picked up his little bundle of joy. Masaki sighed happily as she snuggled into his side for a moment, and then peeled back to look at her father's face, which was scowling, something that was happening with decreasing frequency.

Masaki wasn't bothered in the slightest by the expression.

"Daddy, are you mad at somebody again?"

Ichigo glanced at his daughter quickly before striding towards his office. Shuhei trailed behind, having forgotten where he had originally been going. Masaki twisted her body so she could wave happily and smile dazzlingly at him. Her father's voice quickly brought her attention back to him.

"Yes."

"Is it Kira-kun?"

"Yes. But he's not the only one I'm mad at."

Masaki looked down guiltily, knowing from her father's words that she was in trouble. She slumped against her father, suddenly exhausted from her day. Silence enveloped the trio as they marched to Ichigo's office.

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><p><strong>AN: And that is what I have. If I come up with any more, I'll post them in another chapter.**


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